


Keep A Place For Me

by wormsonstrings



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: 2D to 3D, Alternate Universe, Angst, Dimension Travel, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Timeskip Haikyuu, basically kuroo travels to your dimension, dimension hopping, idk what to call this sort of fic, mention of bokuto and kenma :), y/n is in college
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:54:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29412228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wormsonstrings/pseuds/wormsonstrings
Summary: Kuroo appears in your room one day & turns out, he’s from a whole different world; one that you aren't able to go to.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Reader
Kudos: 3





	Keep A Place For Me

**Author's Note:**

> this fic is inspired by the song "Self Control" by Frank Ocean so if you would like some background music while reading, i recommend for you to listen to the [song](https://soundcloud.com/blonded/self-control) or to feel more pain you can listen to it [slowed](https://soundcloud.com/october-woods/frank-oceanself-control-slowed-and-reverb) (but this is completely optional you dont have to :D)

Life as a college student in the middle of a pandemic had been mundane, slow, repetitive, and boring. Your days consisted of you waking up, going to zoom meetings, napping, and not doing homework. However, today was something different. The unexpected happened.

As you woke up today, you noticed a strange figure sitting across your bed, on your desk chair. You were half awake so you couldn't exactly process what you were looking at. Once your eyes were fully opened, there he was. A man with wild black hair and hazel eyes, on his phone. Obviously, this flustered you a lot. Who the hell was this guy and why was he sitting in your room- so many questions. You ended up letting out a yelp and jumping up. 

“Who the fuck are you and how did you get in here?! If you don’t answer right now I will call the fucking cops on you.” You yelled. 

“Yo! YO! Relax, Y/N” he defended. 

Wait a sec, how did he know your name. 

“Wait how do you know my na-” 

“Y/N. I’m Kuroo. Tetsuro Kuroo.” the man said. 

What the fuck. You thought… but also said out loud, which brought a powerful laugh from the man. As soon as you heard the laugh, it brought an epiphany to you; this could possibly be Kuroo, but how is that even possible? 

“Wait. So you aren't going to hurt me right?” you asked, since there’s a random stranger claiming to be your 2D crush. 

“What the fuck. I feel offended,” he dramatically sniffled, “I can't believe you would really think I would hurt you. Why would I do that? I know how much you’re in love with me, how could I possibly hurt you?” He teased as your cheeks showed a bright red. 

“... You make no sense at all. You’re being so confusing.” you huffed, “How do you even know about me and why are you even here?” 

“Well,” the man began, “I’m not from here. I’m from…well- you can call it a different world.” 

“Are you like an alien or something because it sure sounds like that’s what you’re implying.” 

“I’m getting there, jesus christ” he laughed, “basically, you know me from Haikyuu right? Well, each of us from these different shows, I think that’s what you call them, come from different universes. I happen to come from the Haikyuu alternate universe.” 

What the hell was this man talking about? A Haikyuu alternate universe? You were just so confused, you really had nothing to say. You just decided to say the first thing that came to mind..

“Are you like,, on drugs or something?” 

“What? No I’m not on drugs! C’mon. The Japan Volleyball Association would fire me on the spot if I did drugs. Sometimes, I feel like I need drugs though, with the amount of shit I deal with at my job,” He scoffed. 

Oh my god. It finally hit you, It was him. Kuroo Tetsurou. The Kuroo you had as your lock screen, posters of, hell, you even had his uniform. Now, he’s sitting in front of you. His maroon shirt and black denim jacket hugging his arms, with black jeans and some sneakers along with a black backpack he had right next to his feet. You stared in awe as he sat with his chin in hand, his eyes becoming soft as soon as he made eye contact with you. 

“Something up buttercup?” he softly said. 

“Why did you come here?” you said. The mood in the room had completely shifted. From a lighthearted, playful mood to a more earnest one. 

“I just wanted to see you. I have always known of this world. Where I’m from, each of us have a soulmate from the so called ‘3 dimensional world’ … and you just happen to be mine” he looked away as he became flustered, which made you giggle. You couldn’t even believe what Kuroo was telling you. 

“Oh my god.” you awkwardly laughed, “so the whole point of you coming here was just to tell me that?” 

“Well. I wanted to meet my soulmate. I’ve seen the stuff you post on social media, you seemed like a really cool person so I wanted to see for myself… what you were about.” 

“There’s not really much interesting about me. I’m just your basic college student. By the way, while you’re here can you help me with my homework. I’m taking chemistry this semester but I actually don’t know a single thing I’m learning so…” 

“Geez, I tell you that you’re my soulmate and this is the thanks I get? You know what, I’m just gonna go and find another soulmate.” He teased as he stood up and started walking out your room. 

“Kuroo wait!” you pleaded and found yourself grabbing onto the sleeve of his jacket. God, could you look any more desperate. 

“I’m just messing with you babe. BAHAHA you should have seen the look on your face!! You looked so scared” He cackled. Although you were annoyed at him, his infectious laugh just made you smile, you couldn’t even help it. 

“Shut up,” you playfully slapped his arm and headed to sit on your bed. Kuroo sat right next to you, keeping space between the two of you since he wanted to make sure you were comfortable. 

“So what’s the plan for today? We gotta make the best of it.” 

“My plans for today were just to catch up on homework and watch anime, but since you’re here I guess I have to get ready.” 

“You don’t have to get ready, y/n. I’ve seen all those pictures you post of yourself online. You always look good.” he rubs your head, messing up your bed hair even more.

“I guess, we can just stay here and talk. Is that okay with you? Sorry, I’m not a very fun person to hang around with” 

“Y/n. Don’t put yourself down like that buttercup. All I need is just to be with you, it doesn’t even matter what we do.” he caresses your hair as a soft smile appears on his face. 

His words made you so warm. Who knew you would be in the same presence as someone you had watched on your laptop screen? He was really in front of you. 3 dimensional… he was real. Someone you could see, touch, hold, something you didn’t even know was possible. 

“Kuroo, I’m interested to know about how your life was like after high school. What was college like for you?” You were genuinely curious. College was something you sort of struggled with. You didn’t really know where you belonged. You didn’t know your purpose. You were extremely unmotivated. Maybe hearing someone else's perspective could inspire you. 

Kuroo’s eyes lit up like puppy eyes. He felt so flattered to hear you want to know about his life. It filled him up with butterflies inside. 

“College? Oh god, that was so long ago I barely remember,” he joked, causing you to roll your eyes but giggle, since he had just graduated college 2 years prior.

“College was an interesting experience. I mean if I’m being honest the thing I remember most was Kenma and I getting so high after classes. On weekends, we would dedicate them to smoking and then buying as much junk food as possible while just playing video games. Sometimes we’d even invite Bokuto since he would sell us weed with a discount so it was kind of a way to thank him. Kenma is a fucking expert when it comes to weed though. Like god damn, that dude has some lungs let me tell you that.” 

Kuroo was always one to mess around but you wanted to see his more vulnerable side. A side that you never really saw on the screen. 

“Kuroo!! I’m serious!” You couldn’t help but laugh at his stupid response. “I just want to know more about how you navigated through college and how you kind of dealt with your mental health.” 

“Weed. Lots of weed.”

You threw a pillow at him with a pout on your face. This man would never be serious with you huh? 

Kuroo put his hands up, “YO! Calm down y/n!” He teasingly pouted back at you, “Alright. Since you wanna get all emo, I guess we’ll do that. Basically, I always struggled with what I wanted to do. So many people I knew were getting into volleyball which made me question if it was something I wanted to get into. The first two years of college, I was a biochemistry major. It was your basic major, I dunno. It was something that would make my family happy I guess.” He shrugged, taking a deep breath before continuing,

“But I think once I started to see Bokuto and others that I knew getting more successful in their professional volleyball careers, it made me almost feel like- like maybe I could have been like them. Maybe if I didn’t let my own insecurities and pressure to make my family proud take over me, maybe I would’ve been able to be right there with Bokuto, like the friends we were.” His eyes started to shimmer more, almost like tears were starting to form. He wiped his hand over his eyes. You wanted to say some comforting words to him, but thought it was best to let him take a moment to himself. He continued.. 

“You know, I felt such an indescribable emptiness. Being in the lab while all my friends were in the court. I was so alone. I started to convince myself that I wouldn’t have made it in the professional volleyball world. Hell, my own family never went to a single game of mine in high school. What made me think that actual professionals would think I was any good? Maybe I should just let go of volleyball as a whole. I spent my nights alone in my room doing absolutely nothing, I wouldn’t even speak to anyone. Life just felt so… stagnant. It wasn’t until one day, Bokuto sent me a text inviting me to one of his games. Since he was one of my best friends, I thought why not support him? I ended up dragging Kenma out with me. Watching Bokuto play, I got a sort of inspiration. He has such a drive that I can’t really describe, but it really moved me. I had the realization that I shouldn't let go of my passion for volleyball. It was something that had been such a major component in my life and was everything to me. That was the moment I decided to change my major to marketing to one day join the Japanese Volleyball Association. That way volleyball would still be in my life, even if I wasn’t on the court.” He looked up at you, his demeanor being absolutely sincere, like he finally unpacked a story he had never shared with anyone. Anyone except you. 

“Oh my god,” You weren’t really sure how to even respond to him. You weren’t expecting to open up that much. It wasn’t something you minded though, since it seemed like he had to get that off his chest. 

“Kuroo. Thank you for opening up to me. I’ve been struggling so much with that feeling of emptiness and lack of purpose. But hearing you talk about overcoming it really just, makes me feel like I’m not alone.” Content. That’s what you felt at that moment. 

“Y/n. Can I hold your hand?” he gently asked. Of course you shyly nodded. Less than 15 minutes ago you were throwing pillows at him and now he was holding your hand. Kuroo followed, 

“If there’s one piece of advice I can tell you to follow, it would be to find something you take comfort in and hold onto that. Because even if you feel like nothing can keep you going. I believe that the thing you find comfort in, can potentially open new doors to finding your passion and purpose.” His nose crinkled as he smiled. He felt so honored that he could help you. Nothing brought him more joy than to make you happy. 

You weren’t really sure how to respond. For the first time in so long, you finally felt understood. Like you had someone who knew exactly what you were going through. You felt valid. The smile on your face said it all. Kuroo could see that. 

“Now, y/n, why don’t I help you with that chemistry homework. It’s been a while since I’ve touched a periodic table, but I’ll see how I can help,” Kuroo said followed with a kiss to your forehead. As soon as he processed what he just did, he shyly ran to your desk, covering his face in embarrassment. 

“Holy shit. I did not realize I did that. Oh my god I’m so fucking sorry that was an accident. I should’ve asked for permission to kiss you. I feel so b-” Your lips met with his. With your faces aligned, you could feel the warmth of his cheeks. As you stopped, looking in his eyes, Kuroo was so in shock, which made you let out the ugliest laugh. He was such a dork, why were you head over heels for him?

“What? Am I a bad kisser? Leave me alone, I haven’t kissed a girl in so long.” He said.

“No ya dork. I could tell you were embarrassed for kissing my forehead so I wanted to, even out the embarrassment.” You smiled. As you walked to grab your chemistry textbook, you felt Kuroo behind you. He was holding you and resting his chin on the top of your head. You interrupted.  
“Um Kuroo,” you awkwardly mumbled, “I thought you wanted me to get my chemistry homework.” 

“Nah, fuck that. Can I just- can I just hold you… please?” his voice cracked a little. You had so much homework to do, but his voice just pleaded of desperation. Like you were something he was about to lose. His embrace just made you feel so safe. How could you say no? 

You turned around, facing him, wrapping your arms around him. It felt as if the world had stopped. The only thing that mattered was him. You didn’t think about your homework, your feelings of loneliness were gone. You felt like you mattered to someone. Instead of spending hours alone staring at your ceiling, you were in the arms of someone you loved. Someone you never thought you'd meet. 

Before you knew it, you were in the air being carried to your bed. Kuroo didn’t need much. He just wanted you in his arms. 

You guys spent the entire day cuddling, watching your favorite shows, talking about the most random things. He felt so invested in knowing so much about you. He wanted to learn everything about you. The two of you indulged in Cup Noodles while you talked about your plans after college. Your dreams and goals. 

Kuroo would go into detail about his entire life. He told you all about his high school volleyball experience, his friends, his graduation. He told you funny stories of his friends, including a story where Bokuto got drunk and ended up streaking during a college party. You found out about his family. You learned about how he viewed the world. His outlook on life gave you so much optimism: life goes on. He went into detail about how much those simple words always impacted him. He was always able to move forward from hardships, losses, and pain, because no matter what life went on, and all he could do now was grow and help others move forward as well.

Although you were dressed in basketball shorts and oversized tee with messy bed hair, Kuroo looked at you like you were royalty. He adored everything about you and it was evident in the way he wouldn’t take his shimmering eyes off you. 

Your day together consisted of jokes, laughs, cries, smiles. It felt like you were in paradise. Like you had been transported to a completely different world. A world with only you and Kuroo. A world where nothing else mattered. 

The day ended with you and Kuroo cuddling as you played with his messy hair that felt like silk in your fingers. Laying on his chest, his heartbeat sounded like music to your ears. Because it meant that he was real..and right next to you. 

Your eyes started to feel extremely heavy but before you could fully go to sleep, you felt him gently move you and get up from the bed. 

“Kuroo?” you softly said. The time was 11pm. The room was filled by the sound of fog outside. 

“Y/n,” Kuroo sighed as he grabbed his belongings, “I have to go.” 

“Kuroo. Kuroo what?” His words sprang you up from the bed. He had to go….where, and why?

“I’m sorry y/n. I have to go back to my world” Those words just hit you so hard. You felt like you had just been stabbed. The euphoric feeling you felt with him made you forget the fact that he wasn’t even part of your world. 

“Wait Kuroo. Please stay with me. Please. I just- I want to be with you.” You felt yourself choking on your tears, trying so hard to hold them in while your throat tightened. God why were you crying? This is a fictional man we’re talking about. It was obvious that he couldn’t stay with you. He had his own job, friends, life. He had his own world, one you just weren’t in. You felt yourself wrapping your arms around him, almost as if you had the power to keep him here forever. 

“Y/n. I can’t stay here. I was only allowed one day here.” He was facing away from you as you embraced him from behind, but with his head down, you already knew he hated the fact that he had to leave you. You were the only person that showed genuine interest in him. All throughout his life, all he could do was help others, but no one ever showed interest in his life. He knew he was only allowed one day. In his world, each person is allowed one day with their soulmate from “the other world.” He just couldn’t tell you. He was scared of hurting you. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered as he heard you weeping behind him. He felt so bad. No matter what, you were going to be hurt. But this just made him feel awful, “I just couldn’t get myself to tell you. I wish I didn’t have to leave you. Things shouldn’t be this way, y/n.” 

“God Kuroo. What the fuck am I going to do now? I don’t think I’ll ever be as happy as I was today. I can’t take it. It hurts me so much. I thought I was finally able to be happy, now I have to continue living my miserable life after all this?!” You felt your voice get louder and your sobs getting louder as well. You hit his back, leaning over your desk to allow yourself to process everything. After taking a deep breath, you continued, “I don’t know what to do with myself now, Kuroo.” 

You felt him behind you. He returned the favor and wrapped his arms around you. Kissing the top of your head he gently whispered, “Let’s just go back to bed. I’ll spend the night with you. Please just know that when I wake up, I won’t be here. I’ll be back in my world.” 

You turned around and looked at him. Your puffy red eyes staring into his comforting eyes. Although you were in this position because of him, you felt yourself at ease. A weird feeling. You knew he wouldn’t be here tomorrow, but you just needed him to be there for you tonight. At least waking up tomorrow, you could convince yourself that this was all a surreal dream, and you could pretend like you’ve never met him.  
As the two of you laid together, your breaths were synced up. You enjoyed every second you had with him. You cherished his touch, his words, him. 

“Y/n. I just want to let you know,” he suddenly said, “You are such an amazing person. You don’t need me for happiness, although I am a source of happiness, in your eyes. But I am not the one that gives you this strength that you have inside. You are the one that takes on each day. You are the one that faces life and takes it on. You need to give yourself more credit, dummy,” he laughed as he squished your cheeks together, “Anyways, you are the one that does these things for yourself. You did it before you met me, and I know damn well that you will do it once I leave. Life goes on. All I ask of you, is to please continue being the strong person you are, and to keep a place for me in your heart. If you ever feel discouraged, find me in your little heart and I’ll be there being like, ‘go y/n!! You got this!!,’ That’s all I ask of you… just please keep a place for me.” Once he finished talking, he placed his chin on your head as he tightened his embrace, almost like a period at the end of a sentence. He felt you snoring, “Damn, my words really put y/n to sleep huh,” he thought as he laughed to himself. 

“I love you, y/n. Always have. Always will.” He whispered as he soon fell asleep with you as well. 

-

-

-

As you woke up the next morning, something felt off. You remembered what had happened the day before. You felt so confused, conflicted almost. You weren’t sure if what happened the previous day actually happened or if it was some weird dream you had. In the past, you had attempted shifting realities due to the countless amounts of tiktoks you had watched. You wondered if this case with Kuroo was one of them, but god it felt so real. You really couldn’t tell if that day you had spent with Kuroo was even real. Either way, you were back to your life. 

As you turned around to get out of bed, you noticed something on your desk. It was something that definitely was not there before. You got up and walked to it to grab it. 

It was a red jacket. You unfolded the jacket as you read the words, “NEKOMA” in big white lettering in the back. The jacket was a large and smelled of Old Spice, with the number one, scribbled on the tag. However, you didn’t notice the note that had fallen out of the jacket…

“Keep a place for me.” The note read. 

Although you didn’t know if the previous day even happened, there was no denying that you were holding Kuroo Tetsurou’s jacket in your hands. Of course, you had to put on the jacket, because why not? The jacket was way too long for you, but it felt like a hug. It felt like he had completely embraced your entire body.

At that point, you felt such an odd reassurance. You felt like you knew him. You thought about your possibly real encounter with him. His words of encouragement echoing in your head. His kisses leaving you warm inside. Although you weren’t sure if your weird dream was real or not, you felt like you could face life. You felt like you were able to encounter anything, face anything head on. Because the place you kept for him in your heart almost felt like a motivator. The memories with him, his words, this man really cared for you. He still cares for you. He loves you so much. Whether or not you could realistically acknowledge that he was right there with you, in your world. He would forever hold an impact on you, and that was something you would never forget, and always hold close with you. 

Both worlds were forever bound by this singular memory. 

As you admired the jacket in the mirror, you heard your phone ring. 

“From: Kuroo Tetsurou”

**Author's Note:**

> hello! thank you so much for reading ^__^ !! i wrote this during that time on tiktok when people were talking about how in another universe anime characters simp over us. idk why but that inspired me to write this (sorry if it doesnt make sense) lol. i wrote this based on my own experience as a college student and it helped me a lot so hopefully it helps you too!! ANYWHO, i hope you enjoyed. Thank you again for reading ^^ 
> 
> feel free to follow me on [tumblr](https://awormonastring.tumblr.com/) for oneshots (18+)!!


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